Fuel Smarts

Oregon Governor Signs Trucking Bills

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber has signed two bills of significance to the trucking industry and vetoed a bill that would have raised speed limits in the state.

Kitzhaber has signed House Bill 2082, which replaces the state's weight-distance tax with a 29-cents-per-gallon diesel fuel tax as well as raising the state's gas tax and increasing truck registration fees. However, the Oregon division of the American Automobile Assn. says the bill unfairly benefits truckers and is campaigning to put the issue on the ballot in next May's election.The governor also signed into law a bill that will require the state to list the results of drug and alcohol tests in truckers' driving records. The new law, House Bill 3292, closes a loophole that allowed truckers fired for drug and alcohol abuse to jump from job to job. That bill also encountered opposition. The Ohio Department of Transportation asked the governor to veto the bill, claiming it is unconstitutional and violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.One bill affecting truckers that didn't make it into law was Senate Bill 558, which would have raised the speed limits in the state to 75 mph for cars and 70 for trucks.